Welcome to this week’s edition of The Source! Let’s explore the Sacred Power of Presence.

At first, “finding the time” to practice presence may feel like a chore, but this is the natural progression we all go through on our journey to stillness.

The easiest way to connect with the flow more effortlessly is to practice throughout the day while you’re stuck in traffic, standing in a line, sitting in the bathroom, attending a meeting, or even taking a shower.

You can start out with an easy technique that requires no equipment called “16 seconds.” I’ve taught it to more than 200,000 people around the world, and it’s based on the ancient technique of mindful breathing popularized by the Buddha 2,600 years ago.

Start with a long, slow, deep inhale through your nose, and watch your breath slowly move into you and follow it down deep into your belly; then hold the breath in and witness it as it sits in your belly.

Release your breath, and observe it as it moves back up, through you, and out of your nostrils. As you continue to exhale, watch your breath as you continue releasing it out, and observing it the whole time as it dissipates into the air.

In.
Hold.
Out.
Hold.

Witnessing the whole time as you move through this simple four-part breathing technique. Each component takes about 4 seconds, with the whole experience lasting 16 seconds. You can approximate your time by counting along the way, or simply surrender to the process and see where it leads you.

Sixteen seconds is all it takes to practice presence. And you can gently increase your presence practice to a minute by doing it 4 times, or to five minutes by doing it 20 times.

This time-tested process will instantly infuse all the conversations in your head with a tiny bit of stillness. The resulting newfound clarity in your mind will then start to subliminally pervade your choice making as your laser focus guides you in ways you never thought were possible. This concentrated light of single-mindedness cuts through the fog of indecision, pierces the veils of confusion, and brings an instant settling down of emotions that would otherwise succumb to melodrama.

Your tranquil inner dialogue evolves into a calmer and more composed outer dialogue. The swirl around you slows, creating an inviting aura of tranquility that others appreciate participating in.

And as all of your interactions start to proceed at a slower speed, you receive information more clearly, process it more objectively, and speak with greater poise and purpose.

Peace. -davidji